A few months ago AOL found a way to fuse AIM, its popular instant messenger client, with the broader messaging systems like Facebook and Twitter that have begun increasingly important on the web. AIM now includes a new tab dedicated to the lifestream: a combination of your friends' activities on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, AIM itself, and a variety of other services.

In a nutshell, Lifestream is coming to the iPhone with AIM 4.0. This "FriendFeed with integrated chat," as Kincaid puts it, just went live in the App Store.

However, you have to cough up $2.99 for Lifestream with the aforementioned functionality. The free version doesn't do the trick.

I checked it out for myself and have to admit an overall positive initial response. It really is a portable version of the services supported by the desktop version of Lifestream. But, best of all, the iPhone app enables one to cover a lot of social networking territory at once. If you want to let the world know you just ran out of toothpaste, no need to type it twice. AIM updates pump out to Twitter, Facebook, etc. simultaneously. This is the first and only reason to pay up for the app. Taking Lifestream from read-only to the chat fest this neat little app now inspires should earn high marks for AOL.

Other new additions to the app include photo uploading, photo viewing on the Lifestream, and various UI improvements.

A lot of AOL fans are hoping the new iPhone endeavor is a success. The company, after all, could use a little morale boost these days, along with more positive PR.

Just yesterday, AOL was profiled in various media outlets promising to donate more than $100,000 to charity to settle two lawsuits resulting from ads attached as footers in email messages. AOL, after all, still generates considerable revenue from ad space - an effort some say the company may have taken too far. As a result of the controversy, AOL is now educating all members on how to opt out of the seemingly troublesome footer ads.

So, Awesome app, That I'll never use because You have to pay for it. I dont mind buying apps,but this is a waste of money for me, I've got no problem taking an extra 30 seconds to open my free twitter app, or to open the flickr app, or to open any other app that this integrates with. If they want my money, they need to make it worth while, And if the UI is that amazing, someone would need to pay for it, why not offer its amazing powers in the free edition and make it very limited. Im not paying money to test a UI..